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Playing With Puppy

Have you ever thought to yourself how odd it is that humans and animals can play together? The Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab has! They want to know how you play with your dog, as the subject of how dogs and humans play together is relatively unstudied (and every canine companion is unique)! How do you play with your furry friend?

My own dog doesn't play like most dogs. Fetch generally bores her and I can only get her to return the ball about twice before she gives up. I don't think she'd even know what to do with a frisbee. If you throw something at her, she just lets whatever airborne object it is hit her in the face. But not all is lost.

Her favorite game to play is what I've dubbed "Keep Away". She'll come up to me with one of her favorite toys, shake it around like she wants me to grab it from her mouth, but as soon as I reach for it she'll quickly pull away to keep me from taking the toy away from her. This little game can entertain her for hours -- me though? Not so much.

She also loves wrestling. She's not the biggest of dogs, so this one kind of surprises me. Weighing in at about thirty pounds, my canine companion acts at least twice her size when she play growls as you wrestle her to the bed with your hands. Her tail wags ferociously and I swear if you look long enough, you can see her grinning from ear to ear.

As we know, though, every dog has their own personality quirks; it’s part of the reason we love them so much! If you’d like to help out The Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab in their study, you will need to fill out a short survey and send in a short video (30-60 seconds) of you and your pup playing and having a good time. This study is open to anyone in any country, and is a great way to get involved in scientific research into dog behavior!

Updates:

From March 1 - April 1, 2015, we are helping Nevada Humane Society, a non-profit organization in Reno, NV, that works to help domesticated and wild animals receive the needs that they deserve while working closely with the community to raise awareness on the importance of spaying/neutering and pet care.> learn more.

"Nothing warms my heart quite like discovering a company that commits to donating..."